Grief
by ErisYao
Summary: While the rest of the Company goes on like before, two people tries to cope with a friends death.


**This Fanfiction was a story me and a friend of mine wrote togeather. I wrote Elena's parts and she wrote Rufus's parts. Furthermore some tings should be said, and I ask you to read with them in you mind:**

The Incident that are mentioned is the happenings at the Temple Of the Aincents in the FF7 game. And here is the thing: Niether of us had played the game when we wrote this (I was at Cosmo Canyon, she had not played at all) so we knew what we had been told by people who had played the game and what we had read at FFwiki and other fictions. So there can be missed facts, things that are wrong according to the game and so on.

It wasn't writen to be 100% correct. We wrote it because we like the two caracters, and well... The story just formed itself. Read it for what it is.

We would love to hear what people think so Review please!

**/Eris**

It had gone some days now since that incident. Days filled with confusion, stress and work. First now was there a small empty space with time to breath. And with the calm, the realisation had come crashing down. It was like it had been impossible to grip it yet. But now all that had been suppressed surfaced. Sorrow and Pain. Great pain that ripped Elena's soul. Sorrow threatening to drive her mad. Tseng was dead! It was so utterly impossible to face, but she knew it was true! They had been there, and that made it all the more hard to face. She stood alone in the empty office. His things lay as he had left them, prepared for the next day's work. The air smelled of him. Elena bit her lip, but failed to hold back her tears. They streamed unhindered down her face, hitting the surface of his desk. Tseng was dead, and she had not been able to do anything. She had loved him, but had not been able to express it, and now it was too late.  
She cried. She cried for everything that she had not been able to say. Cried, not caring if anyone would hear the howls of despair or hulking of his name. If it could bring him back, she would allow the entire world to hear. What would it matter! She shouldn't sorrow, shouldn't show feelings, but nothing mattered anymore. She clawed at the surface of the desk, hid her face in her arms, back shaking where she sat on the chair that he had sat on like was it a throne. She ought to leave, but she couldn't move.

Rufus felt himself breath heavily and his jaw was clenched. He stared in front of him, eyes dry, but his mind roaring. He was standing in his office, staring out of the window with hard eyes. Tseng was dead, but people die every day Rufus told himself. Tseng had been one of the Turks, they lose their lives easily, its part of their job. Rufus had been denying his feelings of deep sorrow the past days. He was not the man who mourned!  
Tseng had been important. He had been head of the Turks, his loyal troop, and Rufus had had contact with him during his childhood and his time as vice president. But he had still just been a member of the staff Rufus told himself, not allowing himself the pain that was riding his body. They lost staff all the time, he had just known Tseng a little bit better than the other members. But this paralysing feeling of... sorrow... was just him giving in to weakness. He must get a hold of himself!  
It was thoughts like these that roared trough the president mind. Rufus fists clenched and unclenched, still staring out into the nothingness. He gritted his teeth and felt a massive anger and despise for himself. He was dizzy from sorrow and he loathed himself for it. He had no control. He was the man who never cried or bled, but he wanted to cry, he wanted to bleed all of this sorrow from his soul, drain his body from these ugly feelings. He needed to put an end to this. He was supposed to attend Tseng's ceremony in a few days and he wanted to be his old self then, not this pathetic shadow. He needed to get a hold of himself. Needed to take control!  
He needed to say good bye.  
Rufus looked up with eyes black from sorrow and anger and left the office. He was headed to where Tseng had spent most of his time; his desk.

Elena lifted her tear streaked face and looked around the room through a thick mist. It was unbearable. Everything that surrounded her said Tseng's name. And all reminded her about the piece of her heart that would never be healed. Why!? Why hadn't it been any of the others! Why not Reno? Why not Rude!? Lord, why not her! With a howl she pushed a stack of papers off the table and let her head fall back on her arms. But after some minutes guilt made her rise from the chair. Falling to her knees she scrambled about, picking up the scattered reports and printed messages, all the while crying and sobbing. She dried her tears on her sleeve, but they were soon soaked again. A new wave of pain struck her as she saw Tseng's sign on one report. Doubling over she started to cry loud again, holding the documents to her heart.

Rufus stomped down the corridor. The few who saw him cowered in fear, the president was pale, his hair was untidy and his expression indescribable. His overcoat bellowed behind his as he entered the Turks HQ and he ordered everyone in sight to:  
"LEAVE, NOW!" Then he walked up to Tseng's door and flung it open.

Elena jerked backwards as the door was thrown open. Her swollen, red, eyes stared unseeing through an untidy curtain of hair at the unclear shape of white standing there. Her brain analysed it as the President and fear and embarrassment added to her sorrow. More tears flooded her vision and she hurried to get to her feet, but the sudden rising made the blood drain from her head. All vision went black for a split second and she stumbled to the floor again, where she laid sobbing, unable to move, embarrassed and pain ridden.

Rufus stared down at the red eyed, crying, snivelling and untidy mess that was Tseng's ex-partner Elena. He just stood there for a moment, face completely open showing a million emotions, but the dominant ones were surprise and pity. He was first chocked to find Elena there, but then he realised that it was the most natural place. Tseng had been killed and he had left many people behind. The company grieved, but he had been too closed up to see this. Everybody was sad, but the one who grieved the most was lying on the floor in front of him. He had been so angry, at everybody, but most of himself because he didn't want to see what was happening. He had overseen his duty: to look after the company. He was the one who could help the ones who had lost more than him, and that was the right ting to do. Rufus felt himself gaining control of himself and felt two things, sadness and the urge to help the thing he treasured the most right now, his faithful staff, and top priority was Tseng's former partner. He walked up to Elena, kneeled down and dragged her into his arms, holding her tight, whispering.  
"I promise I will make everything all right."


End file.
